tmrafandomcom-20200215-history
Indian Valley Railroad
Indian Valley Railroad (IVR) '''is a Class 1/Heritage Railway company which runs from the shoreline of '''California to the mountainous terrain into Indian Valley. Originally the railway was called the Indian Valley Rail''way''. History Origins The Indian Valley Railroad was originally an independent branchline running from Indian Valley Station to Muffle Mountain. Its official opening was in 1885 starting with the opening of Shining Time Station '''but business didn't start booming until '''1901 at the opening of the Engels Copper Mine, one of the largest copper mines in Northern California. An extension was made into Engelsmine. Later the line was again extended to Paxton in 1916 and the railway officially became a branchline of the Western Pacific Railroad Company in 1921. Paxton became a junction point where connections with the Western Pacific Railroad and the North West Pacific Lines Railway Company were made with the Indian Valley Railroad. Hard Times In 1930 the Great Depression hit and the value of Copper declined. The Depression affected the railroad hard as it strived to keep operating serving the towns and a lumber company. In 1938 the railroad was abandoned, Engelsmine was dismantled and the locomotives (there had only been two anyway) and rolling stock scrapped. Revival In 1942 America became involved with World War 2 and the United States Army Transportation Corps. set up camp in Engelsmine and renamed it Fort Farley. They rebuilt the line from Engelsmine to Paxton as well as occupying the North West Pacific Lines which had dared to survive under the shadow of the Depression. During the war, the two railway lines were under the ownership of the Fort Farley Military Railroad Company. At the end of the war a new company called the Indian Valley Rail''way'' Company was formed and the USATC sold off much of its equipment to the company. The few remaining miles of track from Fort Farley to Indian Valley was renovated and the Indian Valley Railway was open for business. Growth In the 1950s the Indian Valley Railway was growing more popular. Not only did it serve tourists, commuters and goods, but it was also recognized for its heritage of classic railroading. The railway added several locomotives to aid the wide fleet of 2-8-0 Consolidations '''during this time and the number of trains increased. '''4-8-4 Northerns and a 2-8-4 Berkshire '''were purchased for long distance travel, '''4-6-2 Pacifics, a 2-8-2 Mikado, and an 4-8-0 Mastodon came for mountainous journey through the gorges and a handful of small 4-4-0 Americans '''and '''4-6-0 Ten-wheelers came for the spur line to Lucky Lake. The railway strictly justified that this was a steam heritage railway and would refuse to scrap any engines for the means of revolution. However this did not stop the railway from introducing streamlined diesels '''to correspond with the other railways modernization. '''Streamlined steam engines '''were also introduced though they were later stored in the Indian Valley Railway museum''' for preservation. Easy Living Not much of importance happened on the Indian Valley Railway during the 1960s other than the acquisition of a handful of Geep diesels '''to aid the aging fleet of steam engines but the steam engines still keep on going. In '''1971 the railway observed the founding of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, widely known as Amtrak. The railway refused to hand over its passenger service to Amtrak which respectfully agreed to let its independence thrive on terms that the railway restricts its trains to Platforms 3 and 4 at Bigg City Station. The railway humbly agreed. In 1976 the Indian Valley Railway received the honor of having a visit from the American Freedom Train which was touring America for the Bicentennial Celebration of the Nation. Following the visit the railway was renamed the Indian Valley Rail''road''. Failed Attempt The 1980s was also a quiet time for the Indian Valley Railroad until the ownership was given to the rather bumptious J. B. King Esquire. Prior to his takeover, the railroad had been restoring its older stations to former glory. Shining Time Station was the last as King's ownership commenced before the restoration and reopening of that station. Life at Shining Time Station was threatened to be short-lived as King made a modernization plan: close all the small stations to leave only the big stations so that the trains would travel faster. This has been (thankfully and surprisingly) unsuccessful. Carrying on The 1990s saw popularity grow for Shining Time Station with many adventures occurring there and many people flocking onto the trains to get there. However in 1998 Shining Time Station was subject to an explosion which happened when no one was around. Amazingly J.B. King took pity and had the station rebuilt. But instead of using the original plans he had the station built to a new design, one that he felt would become more popular amongst the tourists. This building still stands but in spite of this the station has become less popular. The Indian Valley Railroad however still runs to this day. In 2005, the 60th anniversary of the railway's reopening, the railroad has been awarded as the longest running Class 1 railroad, the oldest tourist railway attraction, and the best railway heritage in America. The Route The Indian Valley Railroad starts at Big City Station where it meets Amtrak and Californian Commuters such as Metrolink and CalTrain. It travels briefly along the coastline and then heads into high desert. Approaching the mountains the train meets greener pastures and farmlands until it enters a gorge which winds its way into the mountains. The railway then enters the Indian Valley and travels through it for some time before approaching another gorge which leads the train up onto the mountain gradient. At the end of the line on top of the mountain the train pulls into Indian Valley Station. Here is a list of the stations: *'Big City '(Originally Bigg City until the late 1970s) *'Pelican Falls' *'Leaky Park' *'Waddley' *'Turley' *'Logan Wash' *'Farmer's Dell' *'Eggyweg' *'Cloggyville ' *'Paxton '(Original Junction for the Western Pacific Railroad. Now all trains meet at Big City) *'Indian Falls' *'Crescent Mills' *'Veramont' *'Starks' *'Fort Farley '(Originally Engelsmine until the 1940s) *'Muffle Mountain' *'Shining Time Station' *'Leaping Log' *'East Shemp' *'Snarlyville' *'Mount Careful' *'Indian Valley' At Fort Farley the line separates to a branch which is popular for tourists. It heads off to Lucky Lake where trains turn around in a loop and then goes past Fort Farley to Lucy Leap's waterfalls. Here are the stations on the branch: *'Fort Farley' *'Butter Town' *'Doodle Haven' *'Twiddly Junction '(Trains going to the lake meet the train returning from the lake here. The loop line starts here. *'Lucky Lake' (The line loops around the lake. The station is on the other side of the lake) *'Dillylick '(This station is past Fort Farley) *'Spotsville' *'Chubby Corners' *'Lucy's Leap' (Passengers stop here for a layover. Trains turn around as they view the waterfalls, ready by the time to return to Fort Farley) Trains There are a number of trains running along the route of the Indian Valley Railroad. Here is the list of names of the trains. Roster The railway has a number of engines in its roster. Here is a list of the steam engines in its roster. Here is a list of the diesel engines in its roster. Here is a list of engines out of service from the roster. Rolling Stock The railway has several coaches designated to specific trains. It also has a range of freight rolling stock. Here is a list of the passenger rolling stock. Here is a list of freight cars in the rolling stock. Logo Gallery Indian Valley Railway logo1.gif|Indian Valley Railway Logo as carried by #1702, #722 and most of the Geep diesels. IVR logo 2.gif|The Indian Valley Railway logo as carried by #4960, the streamliners and the F40PH diesels IVR Logo 3b.gif|The Indian Valley Railway logo as posted on merchandise and the gift shop box cars. IVR logo 4.gif|The Indian Valley Railway logo as shown on #19, tickets and the signs at Turley and Indian Valley. IVR logo 5.gif|The Indian Valley Railway logo as it appears on the native American advertisements for the IVR IVR logo 7.jpg|The Indian Valley Railroad logo as shown from the 1970s to 1990s IVR Logo 7.gif|This logo appears on the sides of most railroad stations. IVR Logo 8.gif|This logo was originally used on merchandise and promotional material. IVR Logo 9.gif|An updated version of Logo #8 Category:Indian Valley Railroad Category:Locations Category:Railways Category:Companies Category:California